Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia admits he can’t imagine to be battling for the MotoGP title defense after five rounds, but he feels “no stress” to be a contender.
After finishing 3rd in last weekend’s Portuguese Grand Prix, the senior Spaniard is now third in the title, just three points behind joint leaders Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins.
Espargaro won his maiden grand prix and Aprilia’s first in the contemporary MotoGP era in Argentina, and has remained fast throughout the 2022 season on the markedly enhanced RS-GP.
Espargaro, who is already an early championship contender, confesses he did not anticipate this accomplishment from himself or the Aprilia heading into 2022.
“No, not at all,” he said when asked if he expected to be a title contender.
“We are in the fight for this championship after race five, that’s for sure. We’re just three points from last year’s champion Fabio.
“I expected to have a high level this year, but maybe not that much.
“I think I’m riding in a good level, but I think also rode in a good level last year.
“But you need to have a competitive bike, and this year Aprilia brought a competitive bike and it suits my riding style.
“I proved that I’m strong with this bike this year. Sincerely, there’s no pressure.
“I’m not thinking about the championship, I’m super relaxed, enjoying a lot this moment. It took a long time to get to this point in my career.”
Espargaro’s third-place finish in Portugal marks his 3rd podium on the Aprilia, after a third-place finish in Silverstone in 2021 and his triumph in Argentina.
That implies Aprilia is now one pole away from losing the results-based privileges it has enjoyed since returning to MotoGP, including more engines for the season and unlimited test compared to non-concession manufacturers.
Aprilia has already begun operating in 2022 as if it will lose concessions the following year, by employing one fewer engine out of a total of nine.
Despite having benefited immensely from concessions, Espargaro claims he never enjoyed the system and is unconcerned about losing them in 2023.
“Maybe some engineers at Noale are a little bit more worried than me, but I don’t like this [the concessions],” he added.
“I’m not stupid, I know these concessions help us.
“But I don’t like them at all, and I think I proved that I’m riding in a very good level and the Aprilia RS-GP is in a good level.
“If not, it’s impossible to do results. So, from now on I think we have a good base and I hope that already in Jerez we will lose the concessions.”
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